Worldwide Tesla showrooms are bracing for anti-Elon Musk protests this Saturday, as the tech billionaire’s role in the Trump administration has stirred a backlash among some European consumers and potential buyers.
This comes after a 44% drop in Tesla sales in Europe on average last month, according to research platform Jato Dynamics, causing Tesla’s European market share to fall to 9.6% last month, its lowest mark in February since five years ago.
However, in the UK, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported an almost 21% rise in the number of new Tesla cars registered in February, with the Model 3 and Model Y being the second and third most popular models after the Mini Cooper.
Hundreds of Tesla owners have reached out to The Guardian to share their evolving feelings about owning Teslas. Here are some of their perspectives:
"Our daughter keeps asking us to sell it"
In 2019, as a birthday present, my wife booked me a test drive for the Tesla Model S. Impressed by its smoothness, speed, and eco-friendliness, we purchased one. We’ve clocked about 80,000 miles on it, using it for trips to Switzerland, Italy, and the south of France, and found it incredibly cheap, reliable, spacious, and virtually service-free.
However, our horror at Trump and Musk’s extreme politics has led our 26-year-old daughter to frequently ask us to sell the car. Seeing Trump and Musk showcasing Tesla models outside the White House left me feeling nauseous, and the online Tesla community has become increasingly polarized.
We’re now constantly torn between our attachment to the car and our disgust at its CEO’s politics. We’re considering putting stickers on the car, like others have, with messages like "Love the car, not the CEO," but we feel torn. The secondhand market has plummeted, and our warranty runs out in 2027, at which point we’ll see what happens. I never thought owning a car would be this difficult.
"Do we regret it? Morally, yes. Practically, no"
Last spring, my girlfriend and I were in the market for a new car. A Tesla wasn’t even on our radar, but it turned out to be a cheaper option than the electric alternatives, and during a test drive, it felt like the best car I’d ever driven. Unfortunately. We decided to buy it.
When Musk started campaigning for Trump last summer, questions about the car started to arise. Now it’s even worse. Friends or colleagues joke around, saying, "Ah! So you’re for Mr. Musk?", but for me, having something that’s in any way a symbol of the far right is extremely painful. We feel a moral pain at being owners.
Do we regret it? Morally, yes. Practically, no. I hope this will be a passing moment, that the brand will outlive Musk. We hope someone can take over as CEO from Musk.
"I’m a Tesla fanboy who jumped ship"
When I first drove a Tesla, while I was visiting Las Vegas for work in 2019, I was blown away. The car felt like the future, and I traded my Ford Mondeo for a Model 3, which I later upgraded to a Model Y.
I didn’t see the rightwing backlash coming. When Musk aligned with Trump, I was prepared to stick with Tesla. However, the day I saw Musk’s so-called "Roman salute," I thought, "Oh, man." My car was up for renewal a few weeks ago, and I booked a test drive for a Polestar 4, a competitor, and am now waiting for it to arrive. I’m prepared to take a slight step down in software.
I was like, "Actually, I’ve got to stick to my morals, without that I haven’t got anything." Even so, the Polestar is made in China, and we thought, "Is that any better?" It’s almost impossible to have a fully ethical supply chain today. But Elon really put me off staying with Tesla – I’m a Tesla fanboy who jumped ship.
"There’s no way I’d sell my Tesla because of the CEO’s political views"
I’ve owned a Tesla Model 3 Performance since 2019, and I’ve been consistently impressed by its software updates, which offer new features and improve its performance. For me, owning a Tesla is like owning an iPhone – everything works really well and is easy to use.
I’ve seen on the news the foolish people who think it’s okay to vandalize Teslas, and I’ve gotten quips from friends asking if anyone has keyed my car yet. However, I’m not worried about my car being targeted for its connection to Musk. I disagree with some things Musk says and does, but I could say the same for everyone, and I don’t see what the fuss is about with Doge. The attacks he’s endured have been disproportionate and dishonest. What I worry about is how easily people can be programmed to hate a company to such an extent. It’s been pretty astonishing.
"It really hurts to think that some of our savings have gone to someone like Musk"
I’m not rich, and my wife and I planned for a long time before we put our savings together to buy an electric vehicle. I don’t consider a car a status symbol; it’s a practical object, and we wanted to reduce our carbon emissions as much as possible. There’s no Tesla showroom in Slovakia yet, so we had to import one from Austria when buying it.
When my friend warned me about Musk, I thought, "Probably if you dig deep enough into any corporation you’ll find someone with unpleasant views." But if I were buying a car today, there’s no way I’d get a Tesla. It really hurts to think that some of our savings have gone to a company led by someone like Musk. When he started supporting the AfD in Germany, or his associations with Trump, or what they’re now doing to USAid and federal employees – I’ve just felt worse and worse about giving the company thousands of euros. It’s now worth a lot less than we paid, and we can’t just ditch it. It’s a symptom of a rather sad time that we live in, really.